National Park Service: Today's Preservation Methods at Mission Espada

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This article is part of “Deeper than Stone: How Mission Espada Preserves More than Buildings”. Click here to return to the homepage. 

Partial Axonometric view of Mission Espada, as depicted in a Historic American Buildings Survey in 1983.

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park [1]

The National Park Service and its partners, seek to preserve, interpret, and share the missions by maintaining its structures, landscapes, and community connections.

The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park was established by Congress in 1978 due to the historical and cultural significance of its landscape and architecture.² An early goal was to make the missions more accessible to local and visiting tourists.³ Mission Espada improved its signage, interpretive material, and trails to support this goal.⁴ These renovations helped guests navigate the missions while ensuring the long-term stability of its structures. In addition to preserving the architectural landscape, the park's guidelines protect its natural landscape by removing invasive plant species and promoting native varieties.⁵

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park protects, preserves, restores, and interprets four Spanish Colonial missions and their associated cultural landscape features established along the upper San Antonio River.

—San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Mission Purpose Statement, Foundation Document [6]

Image credit: NPS Photo / Anna Surovic

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park employs a range of strategies, from park rangers patrolling the grounds to conducting archeological digs and surveys. These promote public engagement, community partnerships, and the preservation of cultural heritage at Mission Espada.⁷

United States Department of the Interior - Division of Conservation. 1983. Detail of Door.

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park [8]

The National Park Service considers community connections a vital resource that requires protection and preservation.⁹ San Antonio Missions stand out as the only national park that collaborates with a local archdiocese.¹⁰ The Archdiocese of San Antonio has been integral to the missions' Catholic traditions. To honor this heritage, the park works with the Archdiocese of San Antonio to ensure the missions continue as Catholic parishes with regular services.¹¹

In addition to the agreement with the Archdiocese, the National Park Service works cooperatively with other landowners to preserve and provide public access and interpretation to the missions... The park is supported through dozens of other partnerships that support preservation, public access, interpretation, and education.

—San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Foundation Document [12]

Image credit: NPS Photo / Anna Surovic

The ongoing dialogue between the National Park Service and mission descendant groups enables descendants to further advocate for the respectful treatment of ancestral homes and cultural practices at the missions.¹³ The recognition of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park by UNESCO in 2015 reflects the sustained efforts to preserve the historical and cultural legacy of San Antonio mission communities.¹⁴

Each generation of stewards at Mission Espada has applied distinct preservation standards and cultural perspectives, shaping the site as it appears today.

2025 World Heritage Management Report

Read the 2025 World Heritage Management Report to see a variety of partner projects that keep the site active and running.

Glossary

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is a specialized agency dedicated to strengthening international cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture, and information.[17]

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a natural or cultural site that demonstrates influence or significance in a global context and has been inscribed on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee.[18]

Credits

This article was researched and written by Ángel Diaz, Jae Gonzales, Anna Surovic, Elyse Reed, and Mackenzie Roach and directed and reviewed by Darby Samoluk and Melissa Hurtado.

The PATH Program: Preserving Archives of Texas Heritage (PATH) is a collaborative initiative designed to build stewardship in cultural resource work while enhancing accessibility to archival and museum collections.

This joint effort is carried out in partnership with the Texas Heritage Project of American Indians of Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions (AIT-SCM), the University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio), through the Libraries’ Community Engaged Digital Scholarship Hub (CEDISH), and San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (SAAN).

Works Cited

Tags: san antonio missions national historical park, mission espada, historic preservation, san antonio missions